No respite for CA XI, Finch warns

The young Cricket Australia XI won’t be offered any respite in tomorrow’s Matador BBQs One-Day Cup clash against Victoria, according to Bushrangers batsman Aaron Finch.

The squad of emerging players was yesterday handed a record-breaking defeat to the tune of 279 runs against the rampaging NSW Blues.

Quick single: These kids are a lot better than that: coach

Tomorrow’s clash at Hurstville Oval will be the first of the summer for the Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers and Finch says they won’t let up on a side featuring some of his state teammates in Matt Short and Seb Gotch.

“We’re out to win,” a defiant Finch told cricket.com.au.

“It doesn’t matter who is playing.

“They’re on the opposition, so we’ll do whatever we have to to try and win the game.

 “I know they didn’t get the result yesterday that they would’ve liked, but they would have learned a lot out of that playing against guys like Steve Smith.”

Quick single: Maxi could be the best in the world: Finch

Despite some strong individual performances during three practice matches against NSW teams of varying strength, the Victorians failed to get a win on the board leading into the three-week tournament.

Watch: Aussie stars spark NSW victory

New coach David Saker already stated the pressure would be on his side to perform with their 14-man squad featuring 11 players with international experience, and Finch wasn’t shying away from the high expectations.

“We want to win it,” Finch said.

“There’s no secret about that.

“I think we’ve got a team that is as good as anyone.

“We’ve got a lot of power there, we’ve got guys with a lot of experience and guys with some youth and flair, so that creates a pretty good mix amongst the squad.

“When you look down the list, most of our guys have had some experience with Australia, so we’re really confident going into the tournament.”

Quick single: The race to the Gabba heats up at the Matador Cup

The Australian ODI opener suffered a “frustrating” run of injuries following the World Cup victory at the MCG in March, but Finch said it also allowed him to refresh and mentally prepare for a summer where he is looking to become more than a white-ball specialist.

“It gave me time to reassess my technique, especially against the red ball,” Finch, who played only two matches in the Sheffield Shield last season, said.

“I’ve made a few minor adjustments, which I think are working at the moment but time will tell when I get back into the some competitive cricket.

“When you change small things, it’s about getting out to the middle as many times as you can and making sure you’re comfortable with your technique.

“To play more red-ball cricket is going to be a great opportunity and also to be able to play back-to-back games which is something I haven’t had the opportunity to do over the last 12-18 months.”